Packers great left off ESPN's All-Quarter Century team in baffling decision, and it wasn’t the player most expected to be omitted

ESPN had a fun exercise putting together a 53-man roster with the best players from the past 25 years. It's the All-Quarter Century Team. Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder made the analytically-inclined list, and it's natural that at some point there will be disagreements.

For example, the three quarterbacks on the roster are Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Patrick Mahomes. You can make a case for players like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, but ultimately it's a fair group.

The most bizarre thing in relation to the Green Bay Packers is not the absence of Rodgers. It's that Charles Woodson only made the team's practice squad.

The five cornerbacks on the list are Darrelle Revis, Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber, Richard Sherman, and Patrick Peterson. The four safeties are Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins, and Earl Thomas.

The premise of the exercise indicates that players drafted in the 1990s could be selected, but only taking into consideration the production since 2000. So Woodson, drafted in 1998, was eligible.

"These decisions were made mostly on statistical output, focusing on peak seasons while still rewarding longevity. We relied heavily on FTN's DYAR metric (defense-adjusted yards above replacement), which calculates a player's value over the course of the season compared to a replacement-level baseline. Other advanced statistics were also taken into account."

It certainly feels like they forgot Woodson played at cornerback, though. While those five players are obviously great ones, only three cornerbacks were named Defensive Players of the Year this century, and none of them made the team: Charles Woodson in 2009, Stephon Gilmore in 2019, and Patrick Surtain II last year.

Woodson was the DPOY in 2009, made the First-Team All-Pro three times in the timeframe of the exercise, the Second-Team All-Pro four times, and the Pro Bowl seven times starting the count in 2000.

Woodson made the 2000s All-Decade Team over Ronde Barber, who was recognized in the second team. Barber was a First-Team All-Pro three times, Second-Team All-Pro twice, and a Pro Bowler five times. Both are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, both won a Super Bowl, but Woodson is clearly the better cornerback.

Not many Packers players

The Green Bay Packers didn't have a significant representation on the team. The only former Packer on the 53-man roster is Julius Peppers, who played three seasons in Green Bay after building a Hall of Fame career for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. Aaron Rodgers made the practice squad, just like Woodson.